Thursday, April 30, 2009

So last night I brought the girls in for the night, fed them their evening hay and checked on the 'ladies in waiting' pen and counted heads in the pen with the lambs. Yup all is well. Time for supper.

Head in to eat and let the dogs outside to potty and was back out in about 15 minutes.

Chaos.

I go and hear a feeble lamb calling for a mother who won't respond. I go to the lamb pen. Everyone is with momma. I go to the 'expecting mothers' pen and there are 7 ewes standing around a beautiful little......wait for it.....wait....BLACK RAM LAMB!!! Just what I always wanted!! :) Problem was no one was fessing up to being the mom. No calls. Great. So my bottle ewe from last year goes up to sniff and baby tries to suckle. She obliges by hunching her back to bring her non existant udder closer for him. STOP IT! I yelled at her and she bounced and jumped away. What a snot! There were a few other ewes sniffing and looking interested but no one really excited that it was hers. BUM CHECK! hmm.....still nothing...wait! Centennial had afterbirth hanging from her bum...of course the last one I check! So I pick her up and put her in the waiting jug with baby. And then the show down....They stare at each other...baby cries, momma answers. Baby moves towards momma, baby gets head butted against the side of the jug. Baby cries...momma answers. Baby moves towards momma and she stamps her feet and shuffles away from him. This ensues for 15 minutes.

Ok halter time! She was the pretty katmoget lamb i showed at jefferson last fall. She was 8 out of 16 lambs but she was first single coated lamb of the group if that helps any ;) LOL I halter her and express milk from both nipples.....baby latches on. Rodeo bucking contest ensues. 15 minutes of nursing/trying to nurse/trying to find the right end.

Hmmm...maybe I need to mix him a bottle of Kolostrum* (from Premier 1 supplies). I go to the house and mix it and walk back not more than 15 minutes later and I walk past the lamb pen and I see a lamb and her mother standing next to the hog panel. wait....she is HANGING from the hog panel! OH DEAR GOD NO!! Not a ewe lamb! Why not a black ram lamb! She somehow managed to get in to the hog panel feeder and then tried to climb out only to get her leg wrapped around the wire. Not struggling, not making a sound. I go and pull her out. she lays down and i assume since she's not flayling around that she must be ok. She won't stand on it. Great.

Go and try to feed the new lamb who is now nursing while momma is tied up and not struggling. Ok bad idea for a bottle....now i wasted the kolostrum. I try to call me dog vet who lives just down the road from me. She bought a few Shetlands from me last year and her clinic while in town, her farm is just 2 miles down the road...my next neighbor actually on that side of the road :) While driving in the rain after an inch of rain fell and made the roads muddy again I end up going IN to the DITCH with the lamb on my lap driving 50 mph down the muddy road in the dark while raining. I eventually get enough grip to drive back up onto the road and I made it to her house. It took about 15 minutes to get there. She tells me that her hip has popped out and her ligaments/tendons appear to have been stretched out. She puts the hip back in and says she should be ok if she heals right.

She calls me this AM to tell me she wants to do Xrays to make sure its in. Well it didn't stay in. So they put it back in and it would pop back out right away since the muscles were so stretched. We tried what she called and Emur (excuse me if this is spelled wrong) but its in essense a sling of some sort to hold the hip in place. She falls over from it as she was using her 'bad' leg to balance her body. So we take the emur off and she says she'll just have to learn to walk with out her leg working perfectly and won't be able to run or jump or jump UP into the barn doorway to get in and out of the barn in the AM and PM. Yipee.

So go back home to try and do bottle duty. Well he looks to have nursed during the night but mom still wants to kill him (biting, kicking, head butting) so i halter her again and he nurses. he appeared weak this afternoon but when I talked to him he got up and ran screaming for me...I haltered mom again and she let him nurse both sides but only when tied.

My vet said she'd take him as a bottle lab but he is a HE and he is my nicest black lamb to date in my opinion. I don't want a fiesty ram lamb who is a bottle baby but I'm afraid if I don't bottle feed him he will more than likely not make it. If I do bottle him I probably will have an ornery ram come this fall.

Add to this I'm supposed to be in a wedding and leave tomorrow at noon and still have 5 ewes to lamb at any moment and a bottle lamb to feed or at least keep an eye on. My entire family will be gone and that means I may have to skip the dance and supper to come home to feed baby since the vet can't take him until Sunday! BAD TIMING!...ugh...what to do.......

thoughts? do i take him with and run the risk of mom completely forgetting about him? I do have a dog sitter coming to watch the dogs but he is NOT wanting to bottle feed adn I don't expect him to....

The twin white RAMS are out of Heights Orion and RYL Rachildas. Both are 56.5% UK. I'm keeping one, the other will be for sale later. they carry moorit, spotting and modified.My only Willowcroft Jamie lamb this year! He looks polled still at 4 weeks of age...I believe he got that from his mother (pictured here with him) RiverOaks Lucy who is linebred back on Roban Dillon. The ram lamb Levi carries moorit and has a krunet on his head. Super structure so far, very single coated and even from front to back.heights orion x firthoffifth evidence of autumn's lambs. Ram in front and ewe in back.Heights Orion x Justalit'l Black Lambo daughter Bethany. She is my favorite of the three AI ewe lambs this year.Heights Orion x FirthofFifth Booto AI, ram lamb here with his momma Booto. He is 76% UK and F1 Orion, F2 Timothy with some lightnight waaaaaaaaay back there.

The next two photos are of Heights Orion x Underhill Peep. Both rams are apparently poll carriers (Their mother may be a full poll as last year she produced twin rams that were both poll carriers as well) . They are 75% UK and are F1 Orion, F3 Greyling F3 Jamie.

musket ram

moorit ram

Below is Heights Orion x FirthofFifth Rooibos. He is very square. Fleece we can't tell yet where it will go.

These are my Campaign Timothy x Justalit'l Shasta twin rams. The Ag gray has huge horns and the black looks to have scurs. I truly believe Shasta carries the poll gene even though she is also horned!!

So there are so many questions that I as a 'newer to Shetlands' faces daily, and many questions that go unanswered, or will be answered only to bring up two more questions :)

Since blogging has really brought us 'closer' in getting to know each other, I think its only helpful for me to pose questions (either ones I've answered myself and encourage you to think about, or ones I want an answer to really really bad!)

My first question may stem in to 100 more but we've got nothing but time!

I love debates and discussions and welcome opinions other than my own! Honest!

My first question is why did I get in to Shetlands? I can actually answer this one! I was really wanting a small group of sheep for Sadie and Oliver to herd. No kidding! They were small, colorful, hardy and easy enough for me to maneuver myself if need be. I then had a winter with them and fell in love with their personalities, the wool, the lambs, and quickly my 50+ herd of goats were dispersed and I became more of a shepherd of sheep.

I purchased sheep from several people, studied the lines (pedigrees) and looked at the sheep in many aspects....fleece, structure, color, pattern, pedigree, personality, and breed type (i.e. longevity, mothering ability, productivity, resilience, etc).

I have always been a man of evidence and quickly learned that any tool to help make decisions with something I am still learning with is better than no tools (aka guessing). I learned to how take fleece samples for micron testing. I drew blood for contagious diseases such as OPP, CL and Johne's. I weighed lambs at birth and again at weaning and every spring and fall after that for my own records of gain and productivity. Why? Because I enjoyed this information but I also yearned for it. I NEEDED to know. I hate guessing or assuming.

Is what I do for everyone? Absolutely not. I don' think the majority of people that are in Shetlands had other breeds of sheep before them. They are not livestock people and making money at it was never really a thought. They have them for fun or because they are pets. (well ok my dogs are pets and I still test them too so that doesn't hold true for me I guess)

Is that ok? Absolutely. But this is another debate I want to start at another time :)

So I micron test and I blood test. My flock is negative for OPP, CL and Johne's. I test all new animals while they are in quarantine. I feel its very important. People don't think these diseases are in our breed but how do you know? Do you test your flock to prove me wrong? Many meet breeds have these diseases but don't tell people publicly. Pity.

So I do all the work and do all the testing and who benefits? Well I do for my own piece of mind, but so do the buyers. I believe the blood work figured out to be about 30 dollars per animal give or take and micron testing is a mere 1.25 per sample per year. Not too bad of a price considering I can sleep at night knowing that my animals won't pass these diseases to other flocks and I can give proof of what my fleeces are, not just 'guess' or 'say' they are soft. Soft is a word that is relative. My soft may not be your soft. Your soft may not be as soft as mine.

I did AI this past fall. Why? Because the type of Shetland that I want to portray.....as per the 1927 Standard that the SSS uses is what i want to have. Is this for everyone? Another topic for another day. Remind me!

My AI lambs are just stellar. Not much compares to them that I have seen on other blogs. No offense please! I have a specific look I am after and just because your sheep don't look like what i want doesn't make them any less special. They just aren't for me. I'm sure you say the same of my single coated lambs :) Its ok I'm tough!

So again why the AI? I want to breed sheep like the home country raises. Breed them to the Standard. Americans have a great way of changing things....all my breeds of pigeons came from Europe...most don't look a thing like the European breed....we created our own standard...same with the dogs....our standards are SIMILAR but they all still look like Cardigans...I'm afraid I can't say the same for Shetlands. Again another topic!

When I try to market my lambs this summer/fall I will have a hard time knowing who to sell and who to keep to eat. Do I think these lambs could improve a lot of other flocks? Absolutely! In fleece and structure and breed type. Yes. Hands down. Will I think they will all sell? No. Not in this economy and not because most people don't seem to like the single coated sheep. Its ok. I eat a lot! So why the huge price for the AI procedure? Its important to me and my continuation of developing my own line of Shetlands that resembles the standard for our sheep. The original 1927 standard that hasn't been changed in the last decade here in the USA.

I do think it will be a pity more people will not take advantage of these AI lambs. Not because I want to make a buck but I truly believe they can help improve others' flocks here or in WA state or Maine or Texas. They can improve mine and that is why I'm keeping at least SIX ram lambs! Hey when you have 14 of them its easy to keep more than you were expecting. And I truly believe they will be valuable to the breed...such an asset. Such a waste if they aren't used.

My lambs aren't perfect. I don't think I have the softest sheep, but I do believe my animals have something to offer others and I hope those that read this will take heart that I am truly looking out for the best interest of my OWN sheep and their improvement but also more importantly of the breed.

I hope to each year make progress in the direction I want to take my flock and when ewes or ram become available it won't be because they no longer can do me any good, its because they have given me better lambs then they themselves are and they can be replaced and sent to another farm who can hopefully get as nice of lambs out of them as I did.

I currently have 10 ewes slated for sale after their lambs are weaned mid summer. By the Jefferson show I hope to have some of the lambs evaluated for sale. Why so late? Well can you honestly tell me that by just looking at ONE photo of a lamb when its wet or a day old can tell you how they will look as a yearling or as a three year old? No. With a micron test on the lambs that will help me decide further who to keep as I will have already decided who has the nicest struture and horns by then, but fleeces I'm still such a newbie.

with 10 ewes moving out that allows me to keep all 10 of my ewe lambs to evaluate them over the winter and see what their spring micron test comes back as. Its only my 3rd lambing but I already have a better handle on this than I did a year ago and that makes me feel a bit better :)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Here he is again telling me what for.....Below is the dark kat ram lamb out of Jazz x Lavender. Note his krunet. Gorgeous crimp like Myra's boy too.And againBelow is a krunet? Maybe smirslet black ewe lamb out of Jazz and Lavender. She's a cutie!This is a black ram lamb with dog hair out of Jazz x Twix. We'll see how he turns out ;)Below is Jazz x Fleur de Lis' black krunet ewe lamb. A big hefty girl! Cute white spot on her forehead!This is a Jazz x Dixie Cup I guess smirslet katmoget ewe lamb. She has crimpy fleece under that birth coat so time will tell how she develops. This one was the one with the leg 'back'. I guess it was really more 'bent' at the knee and had to get it out. She wasn't having it on her own!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Minwawe Dixie Cup lambed today. I was figuring it was time to 'check' on the girls and noticed her water bag. So I sat down to watch. Between chewing her cud and foraging for hay, she had contractions and was pushing. I finally saw ONE foot and shortly after a head. NOT GOOD.

so I catch her up between my legs and lean over her and try to pull down on the one leg and her head comes out further. Still no other leg......so I go and scrub up and reach inside and find the other leg WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaay back and could BARELY just get it with my pointer finger and hooked it and fixed her position and out she came!

She isn't black......she's a gray katmoget out of Jazz with some wicked crimp. *AND* a krunet!

Both parents are smirslets...and Dixie Cup is out of wild spotted lines so again was expecting more spots. I have to look at it that she ISN"T black and she IS a SHE :)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

I knew WhitePine Twix was going to lamb last night when I went to bed. I woke up early this morning and found her with a .....wait for it.......wait.......A BLACK RAM LAMB! LMAO! I can't believe it! He has the softest fleece but it is all dog hair, no crimp....so time will tell. He's a little shrimp too at 3.5# and his mother is a first time mom who just turned two.....so I don't know what to think of that.

I just got home from supper with the extended fam and BonoCreek Lavender Brown gave me TWINS this year! Both are nearly 8 pounds ...the ram is the darkest gray katmoget i've seen (and he has a tiny krunet) and his fleece is amazing with crimp down his tail and where the britch should be. The ewe lamb is....wait for it......wait..... A BLACK KRUNET !!! How did I get so lucky :) >:) Her fleece isn't as crimpy and if I'm guessing right should be more intermediate like her mother. I still have her son Lyons from last year and he is quite nice and its a repeat breeding this year as we were unable to AI her when we got her in the craddle. Something about scar tissue. So lavie you did good!

Friday, April 24, 2009

ShelteringPines Fleur di les gave me a HUGE ewe lamb tonight! Her lamb is bigger than most of my sets of twins were. I will weigh her in the morning. She is almost as big as the BFL lamb and she was 11 pounds at birth.

So what do you expect to get when you breed a spotted katmoget to a spotted katmoget? I'd hope for a ewe lamb like Suzanne's, but instead i got a black ewe with a krunet marking! Unbelievable! Her facial markings look just like a Jazz x Cori bottle lamb from last year that is now living down the road. Maybe its a sign I need to keep this one :)

I made another jug (all 12 of mine are full) and put Fleur and her ewe lamb in the jug...came in to let Rayna and Stephen know she lambed and then went back out to see if she had another. Nope. Just placenta coming out.

But I was surprised to see Minwawe Dark Chocolate had lambed with a flashy spotted gray katmoget ram lamb! He is the tiniest lamb I have ever seen!!!!! I bet he doesn't weigh more than 2 pounds. He's standing up calling and I had to jug her (and kick a different ewe out of hers). She is a yearling and first time mom and is doing great. I thought she looked 'fishy' tonight while I watched Fleur in labor. I guess my moorit girls are holding out on me.....Twix, Lavender and Flopsy were all jugged but had to be kicked out as I needed the jugs for new moms that I didn't think would lamb quite yet.

I have twelve ewes left to lamb. Three are jugged as we speak as I don't want another rendition of the 'mix up madness' i had a few days ago when two ewes lambed at the same time in the same place. Better to be safe than sorry before I head to work!

Two are bred to Arapaho...one is a black gulmoget I pray throws me a moorit gulmoget ewe!Two are bred to Barish...one is a black gulmoget I pray throws me a gul/kat or gulmoget ewe!Eight are bred to Jazz....most carry spots so I pray i get some spotted lambs like the one Suzanne has!

What a whirlwind of a week. Its Friday already? i got not as much done as I would have liked this week; shoot!

Layla yesterday gave me a big single ewe lamb out of Jazz. She is a spotted gray katmoget. The fleece is amazing. Lamb is 75% UK.Her momma is mioget so she could be modified or at least carry it. Babygirl (yet to be named) is F2 orion F2 Jericho F3 Drum Ram and more!

Eliza this morning gave me TWINS. I think she has only singled before, and I think she twinned partly because I synchronized her with the other ewes?

She threw gorgeous lambs out of FirthofFifth Barish. I was hoping for a polled ram but the gray katmoget ram lamb I got has HUGE horn buds :) The black ewe lamb is just amazing and very very cute. The fleeces are great :)

black ewe lamb, gray katmoget ram. 36% UK

hey I'm happy to just get a ewe lamb!! :)

Big horn buds on this big guy

And in case anyone forgot, Barish and Jazz are both homozygous black, so they will never produce moorit based lambs. This year is only solidifying that fact. Which is ok with me. I was at first bummed but Rayna said that if she had a whole flock like those two boys she'd be really happy...even if they are all black and gray kats ;)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What a day! I KNEW that some of the girls were looking fishy today. I was out cleaning yards and I had this feeling I had to wrap it up and head home. I'm glad I did.

I got home and saw Suzanne's ewe, Sheltering Pines Snow Cloud, had an amazing black yuglet sokket ewe lamb! I'm so jealous! I know Suzanne wanted spots and wanted a ewe and she got what she asked for. Maybe i'll have Suzanne tell my boys what "I" want in the future :)

Isn't she AMAZING? *sigh*. I really 'hate' (in a teasing way) Suzanne! :P She is 56% UK and out of Jazz. She wanted spots and I told her Jazz was her man!! I am a terrible liar....I was hoping that I could muster up the nerve to say she had one of the next black rams and keep the ewe for myself....but I"m not good at lying and I am really happy for her, even if I'm extremely jealous!!

The agreement was that Suzanne would buy Snow Cloud and I would breed her to a ram. Its hard to ship adult animals to Alaska without lots of testing and lots of shipping charges. So she would get the lamb (s) and I could keep Snow Cloud as payment for the breeding and feeding of her all winter. I will be sending the lambs around weaning time (6-8 weeks) so they are small enough to ship north. I think I'll be repeating the breeding this fall ;) I just hope she doesn't give me solid black ram lambs next year :P

I heard a baby lamb screaming from in the shelter. I ran to the shelter and there were 5 ewes crowding in the corner around this 'lamb'. All but two of them took off for outside and that is when I saw TWO lambs! Both White Pine Skor (shaela) and FirthofFifth Rahu (white) had a black ram lamb in the corner! One was 7 pounds, the other 4 pounds. Now the tricky part. Neither ewe was rejecting the other one, and were calling for BOTH lambs. The lambs are confused, the ewes are confused, and I am confused!! Ugh! The sire of Skor's is FirthofFifth Barish and the sire of Rahu's is UnderTheSon Arapaho. I was hoping Rahu was a moorit carrier and the lamb would be moorit (or white in this case) so I knew who for sure the father was. If either turn out, I am going to have to do a DNA test on at least one ram, ram lamb and ewe. I just hope i got the right lamb with the right mom. I assume that Rahu's is the 7 pounder and Skors is the 4 pounder as this is Skor's first baby and assumed her's would be smaller anyway.

Ok So i had to stay home this morning as my Grandpa is sick and I did the chores. Now I'm waiting for the mail so I figured I'd take some photos :)

I have named the BFL girl! Her name will be White Pine Kacy. K is for after her mother's first letter of her name, Kershope. I found the name on babynames.com. Kacy means "diligent during times of war". I thought it was very fitting since the first 12 hours with her mom were like a war. Her mom is very affectionate now and calls for her constantly.such a looker if I do say so myself ;)This is Nessebar's baby out of Jazz. The black krunet ram lamb. He has a very feminie head.Below is Myra's boy playing hide and seek with mom :)here is a better photo showing how amazingly crimpy and consistent he is throughout!

ELIZA SAYS:

"Hey my due date is tomorrow!" That it is Eliza. And I'm glad! That poor udder is going to burst otherwise!

When I got home from work last night I noticed a cow with her water bag out. It was one of my dad's seasoned cows, so I didn't think it would be long to wait for the calf. I then went and checked the ewes. Hmm.... a few are acting 'suspicious' but I've had that run around before so I was checking for girls who weren't chewing their cud and were off by themselves. Nessebar (a smirslet gray katmoget) was off inside the shelter by herself. Great. now I need to run back and forth from the calving pen to the lambing pen :) Nesse seemed in no hurry so I went to watch the cow. Great. She saw me and stands up. Her water breaks. She lays down over the crest of a small hill where I can't see her behind. There is no pushing and all of a sudden two big bellows which makes the rest of the herd run to her aid. She stands up and turns around. Hmm...no feet. He must have been born? I ran over an there is a gorgeous dark cherry red bull calf! I'm so jealous dad! :) I go to make sure he is breathing ok and momma is getting some help from the other girls in cleaning him off. Good...because its getting chilly out.

Ran back to the lambing pen. Nothing. Ok I'll go grab supper quick. Ran back out and Ta-dah! She has a black krunet ram lamb! He is out of Jazz. Jazz is homozygous black so that was no surprise but a ram? i have enough thank you! He has very straight dog hair like fleece, although it IS soft. All my lambs have been really soft this year.

I jug her up and bring the rest of the girls in. Rahu, Dixie Cup, Eliza.....all look suspicious, but I've been known to jug too early and guess wrong. I noticed Myra was starting to stand by herself although she was still chewing her cud. I go to check her at 11 pm and I"m completely exhausted. Honey you'll have to be on your own, as this shepherd is just too pooped out! I awake at 6am to find her in the middle of the pen with the most gorgeous lamb! I could see the horn buds from MILES away, in the poorly lit barn! He has the most amazing crimp and is a gorgeous dark gray katmoget. He gives the AI boys a run for their money for structure and fleece. Momma is a fawn katmoget so the boy carries moorit atleast. he COULD be homozygous Ab/Ab but won't know until we test breed him. There we go...already planning breeding groups :)

I guess I panic sometimes ;) After standing in the pen with the mom haltered and stripping out her udder last night, the baby girl who is yet unnamed, latched on and was waging her tail. I then took the halter off and left the pen. Kershope wouldn't stand for nursing. She'd lay down. Or circle the babe. I went back in the pen and just held Kershope's shoulder with one finger. She stood quietly and then chewed her cud! She would turn from time to time to smell the babies' butt and then continue chewing her cud! Sucess! I hoped.....

So this morning I got out at 6am to look for a pile of new shetland lambs as the moms are starting to be due today. Day 147 is actually today and I have many pathetic ewes out there. I know some were bred on thanksgiving, so that would make their due date tomorrow.

I went out to let the girls into their paddocks and there was Kershope standing, chewing her cud, and the babe was nursing and wagging her tail! Thanks be to God! I guess I am a bit spoiled with the Shetlands moms who have been nothing but attentive.

Kershope's babe weighed 11 pounds and I couldn't believe she weighed that much as she is very long and lean and all legs :) Photos soon of the standing babe. I'm off to work! wohoo!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sadie received three Q's (qualifying runs) out of six tries. We entered 2 runs for Rally Novice, 2 runs for Novice Standard (agility), 2 runs for Open Jumpers with weaves. Sadie earned both her legs for Rally Novice. One was a 2nd place with a 95 point out of 100. Sadie on her second day in Novice Standard made it OVER the teeter and got a 2nd place with a score of 95 points out of 100.More when I come back.....I need to go check lambs again!

a spotted gray katmoget ewe lamb out of Minwawe RedBud and FirthofFifth Barish.On Sunday my dad texted me to tell me a 'brown' ewe had a lamb. I immediately asked for photos and it turns out that it was Minwawe Redbud who is SHAELA but has the sun faded tips that make her fleece appear 'brown' to the untrained eye. She had a darling gray katmoget who has wild body spots. She could be modified as she is not jet black. Last year this same breeding produced an emsket ram lamb.

This morning i went to open the door to the girls paddock and noticed a black krunet ram lamb that appeared to have died in utero about a week or so ago. Detached placenta? I don't know. Was it another ewe? I couldn't find one that appeared to have lambed, and RedBud's girl is on the smaller side....and Redbud WAS carrying a small fishhouse inside her belly...so I'm saying for now that it was redbuds. He was fully formed but just smaller. Dad didn't see him as he leaves each day at 530am and returns around 8pm so doesn't have much time to check a dark pasture or its shelters.

I was unloading my vehicle today and playing with the dogs in the house......I thought I'd better go check the sheep as there are several Shetlands walking around slowly in the paddock, with tails out and not chewing cud. I heard a lamb screaming and went running to the pen. I didn't see one in the SHETLAND pen, but I did see a lamb wandering around the BFL pen!!! I didn't see Kershope, but she was laying down in the shed...where I thought she was throwing out a second lamb (but no luck yet). As is typical of first time moms in the BFLs....that i've been following is she rejected the lamb and bit it and flung it across the jug after I moved them inside the barn.

I haltered her and stripped out her milk and the little lamb just latched on and started nursing. It appears to see be hungry so left her tied up so the baby can find it on its own. If it won't, I"ll help again in an hour or so.

Oh yes...photos...Here SHE is! WOHOO! A beautiful natural colored EWE lamb! She is 57.82% UKIsn't she just a cutie pie? She is out of Sheltering Pines Burma (NC) and Beechtree Kershope.Mom seems content enough to let her lay down with her. Perhaps now that she has nursed the 'mom' gene has clicked.For as big as Kershope was, you'd think she'd have twins, especially since she's a 2 year old. Hopefully BFLs tend to twin more so than single!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Well the expedition is loaded to the gills! I think I'm forgetting something I'm sure of it, but time will tell. The mandatory check list for each dog show has been checked off and anything 'extra' for the week+ of living out of a suitcase should be interesting :)

I will try and find a computer to update you all, but i DO have facebook on my phone so I can update those who are fellow facebookers as to what is going on!

If you haven't heard from me by April 22nd something has happened to me! :)

Mitcham is already at 'Grandma' Mary's house and he absolutely loves her hubby Tim. He wants to play with the GSPs but he just doesn't know how to play with BIG dogs......as with the Cardis he just trips them and then sits on them. I miss the big galoot!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Do us blogging buddies want to have a 'get together' social hour or something one night during the Nationals? It would be fun to have stickers that said "hello my name is: ramsayfarms.blogspot.com". I don't know some of the names behind the Blogger ID names but it would be fun to put a face and name to the blog :)

I have to keep all branches of my blog followers happy so here are some BFL photos :)

Clockwise from top is Beechtree Kiloran ( NC, 45% UK), Crosswind Farm Clover (53% UK), Sheltering Pines Nubia (NC in the corner)(59% UK), ShelteringPines Morovia aka Ears ( 56.5% UK), Crosswind Farm Bea (NC, 54% UK)Again Group shot. Natural colored girls from top, Nubia, Kiloran, Bea. White girls are half sisters. Bigger one on left is Beechtree Kershope and one on right is Morovia (aka Ears). Kiloran and Kershope are now ridiculously friendly and climb up the gates and fences to be scratched and loved on. Its much easier to move the girls with a bucket of alfalfa pellets rattling and they just follow behind quite readily. My obituary will probably read something like "Garrett was mauled by a stampeding flock of BFLs while trying to feed them their alfalfa pellets ;)

Morovia is on the left with Nubia's profile in the middle, and Kershope on the right.

Who we are

Ramsay Farms is situated in the northeastern part of Ottertail County, near Perham, Minnesota. This family farm of 320 acres has been in the Ramsay family for five generations, dating back to 1892. Today our farm prides itself on our Simmental cattle, Shetland Sheep and BlueFaced Leicester sheep. We strive to breed animals that closest match the breed standards given to them, and mindful of production, health and longevity in our animals as well.

In spring of 2016, there was a purchase of 32 acres in Green County, Wisconsin to accommodate Garrett for his work in that region. The animals have for the most part been moved to that location. Both locations will work in tandem to continue educating and promoting these animals and this way of life.

Tradtional 1927 Standard Shetland wool

Shetland Sheep Links

2015 pair

WhitePine Foley and daughter Frygg

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognised markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in sprin. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibres have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be sorsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

BlueFace Leicester

a beautiful typey ewe

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. - Dennis Wholey